[EVO 4G General] davpel:
I'm also a recent iPhone-Evo switcher. Have been using smartphones since the Kyocera 6035 and was a first-day purchaser of all four iPhones. Returned the IP4 partially due to the reception issue, but also because of serious concerns with Apple's decision to go with an all-glass, non-gorilla back. Much too fragile for something you're going to carry around everywhere. I was also very tired of dealing with AT&T and all of their baggage. Sprint's prices and the Evo's truly unlimited data plan made the decision to switch to this device an easy one.

The thing that's great about the IOS platform is that everything just works, all the time. In 3+ years of using iPhones, I had a minimal number of freezes and even less app crashes. The UI is the most intuitive interface I've ever used -- mobile or desktop. As a new Android user, I had fears that the OS would be a step-backward toward the days of Windows Mobile clunkiness. After a week or so of using the EVO, I still have issues with the Android UI but, for the most part, have been very pleased with the decision to switch.

Now, had the IP4 not had build issues and if it was available on other carriers, would I still be using an Evo? That's a very, very tough call. I've invested a ton of money in IOS apps (thankfully, I still have an iPad, so it's not a total waste). The IP4 screen is just gorgeous. After having used both the IP4 and the Evo, I have no reservations in declaring that the camera on the IP4 just blows the Evo away in almost all light situations. When people say that the image quality of the IP4 is as good as a $300 point & shoot, they aren't kidding. And the video on the IP4 is as good or not better than the current generation Flip. Finally, the form factor of the IP4 is perfect, but I realize that is a very subjective opinion.

Things I'm loving about the Evo? The big screen, first and foremost. It's not as bright or clear as the IP4, and the color reproduction isn't as good, but having all of that extra real-estate is really a nice change. WiFi hotspot is a godsend (I'm paying Sprint the $30 as opposed to going with a custom rom for this because I tether all the time and blow through a ton of data a month and would feel guilty not doing so). Love having a better notification system (although I still thing WebOS does this the best right now) and availability of widgets. And finally, the ability to once again use a profile manager. Oh, how I've missed that since switching to the iPhone! It's absolutely maddening that Jobs & Co. won't give developers access to the APIs necessary to make a simple profile manager.

The thing that surprised me most about the switch? Everyone talks about the "openness" of Android, how easy it is to customize, how simple it is to root, etc. Now it's admittedly early in my Android education, but I find that rooting is much, much more complicated and time-consuming than jail-breaking, which is usually a one step, 10 second process. Look at the "SimpleRoot" threads on here -- they're 100+ freakin' pages. Doesn't seem to simple to me! This isn't a knock on Android, just something that I've found interesting about the switch.

Finally, I've got to say something about apps. Everyone compares the app stores on IOS and Android and how there are more total apps available on the Apple platform. So far, I haven't really had trouble finding apps to replace those I had been using regularly on the iPhone. And I was pleased to discover that many of my favorite IOS apps (e.g. 1Password, WunderRadio, etc.) are now available on Android. That being said, the polish, quality and feature-set of Android apps lag behind those for IOS 4 to a great extent. This is particularly true when you compare apps that are available for both platforms -- in just about every instance, features are missing from the Android version. However, I chalk this up to the fact that Android is still a much newer OS and some of these mutli-platform apps have only been available for Android for, in some cases, a week or so. I have no doubt that within the next 6 to 12 months, this gap will decrease significantly.

davpel